Quote:
When Mitt Romney was governor of liberal Massachusetts, he supported abortion, gun control, tackling climate change and a requirement that everyone should buy health insurance, backed up with generous subsidies for those who could not afford it. Now, as he prepares to fly to Tampa to accept the Republican Party’s nomination for president on August 30th, he opposes all those things. A year ago he favoured keeping income taxes at their current levels; now he wants to slash them for everybody, with the rate falling from 35% to 28% for the richest Americans.
All politicians flip-flop from time to time; but Mr Romney could win an Olympic medal in it (see article www.economist.com/node/21560858). And that is a pity, because this newspaper finds much to like in the history of this uncharismatic but dogged man, from his obvious business acumen to the way he worked across the political aisle as governor to get health reform passed and the state budget deficit down.
http://www.economist.com/node/21560864
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President Obama has done some major flip-flopping in the last 4 years as well. Blanket amnesty for young illegal immigrants, gay marriage, NASA funding, and Darfur intervention are some examples.
However, because the most effective advertising special interest groups don't want to make that an issue (remember all of the Sen Kerry flip-flop ads?) we generally don't see it.
I think this goes to show how much advertising can effect our views on candidates, and a possible opening for liberal interest groups. It would not benefit conservative interest groups, which may be why they've been uncharacteristically silent on the issue this election cycle.
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